Luckey Points To Ternus’ Early VR Roots<\/p>\n
Luckey, founder of Oculus and defense tech firm Anduril, took to X and said, “His [Ternus] only non-Apple job was four years in the late ’90s at Virtual Research, a tiny Virtual Reality HMD outfit.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
“From what I can tell, he was the lead mechanical engineer on the V8 I obtained when I was 16,” Luckey wrote.<\/p>\n
The comment suggests that long before virtual reality became mainstream again, Ternus may have been involved in building early-generation VR hardware that influenced enthusiasts like Luckey.<\/p>\n
Apple Names A Low-Profile Hardware Leader As CEO<\/p>\n
Apple last week announced that Ternus, its senior vice president of hardware engineering<\/a>, will succeed Tim Cook as CEO, effective Sept. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n Cook, who has led the company for about 15 years, will transition to executive chairman of Apple’s board but remain actively involved in the company.<\/p>\n Ternus has spent roughly 25 years at Apple, joining its product design team in 2001.<\/p>\n He rose through the ranks and became vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, eventually overseeing development of flagship products like the iPhone, iPad and Mac.<\/p>\n From Early VR Engineer To Apple’s Top Job<\/p>\n Before Apple, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems from 1997 to 2001 after earning a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n Known internally as a “hardware guy,” Ternus has built a reputation for execution and product excellence rather than public visibility.<\/p>\n Disclaimer:\u00a0This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy: jamesteohart via Shutterstock<\/p>\n